1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to light string housing devices and more specifically it relates to a light string mounting system for retaining and protecting at least one light string during nonuse.
Seasonal lighting displays are commonly installed around the roof edge of a building structure, most commonly for Christmas decorations. Strings of lights having weatherproof bulbs are mounted on fasteners to extend around the edge of the building structure under the roof line. With the passing of the season, it becomes necessary to remove the light strings to prevent the appearance of the building structure from being adversely affected. Unsightly nails or other fasteners frequently remain after the light strings have been removed because it is too much work to remove the fasteners which would have to be reinstalled the next year. It is thereby desirable to provide an assembly which decoratively follows the trim line of a building structure in a permanent installation, which would protect the lights during the long period of exposure to the elements of weather when not being utilized.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are numerous light string housing devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,966 to Konecny; U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,414 to Branham; U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,279 to Wood; U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,628 to Reuter et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,136 to Byers; U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,859 to Lettenmayer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,838 to Agabekov; U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,882 to Garrett; and U.S. Pat. No.2,648,152 to Simpson are all illustrative of such prior art.
Konecny (U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,966) discloses a fixture for mounting to a structure which protectively encloses at least one string of lights when the lights are not in use. The fixture comprises an elongated housing with an open side, a cover movably and pivotally attached to the housing for selectively enclosing the open side.
Branham (U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,414) discloses a Christmas light mounting apparatus. Branham teaches an elongate housing having a base plate, a cover plate and a V-shaped plate pivotally attached to the cover plate for providing selective viewing of Christmas tree lights.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for retaining and protecting at least one light string during nonuse. None of the prior art devices teach a means for retaining the desired position of a pivotally attached cover. Further, none of the prior art devices allow the utilization of clips for retaining a tubular light string. Also, none of the prior art devices disclose a means for aligning a pair of light strings substantially parallel to one another and the housing.
In these respects, the light string mounting system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of retaining and protecting at least one light string during nonuse.